Forbidden Lovers

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Something about seeing Evelyn dance, swaying her hips while drinking beer like she had been drinking alcohol all her life, was both fulfilling and torturing in equal measures. Arthmael promised himself this day would be only her and him, at least today she belonged to him but by God this was so difficult. Being so near yet so far away from her was a misery.

And now that she was dancing in the middle with a bunch of people she didn't even know, smiling the whole time, she almost looked like a mirage. Like she wasn't real. Like they would go back to the palace and this would all be a big dream. And they would, this was what tortured him the most.

They would.

They would go back and he'd have to face King Robert again. And no matter what had happened, no matter that Arthmael had seen his true colors now, he'd still feel guilty. Because he was still the same man that had saved him that day, the same man that had ordered everyone to treat him no different than a prince, the same man who had trained Arthmael himself and named him the Commander.

Now though? Now Arthmael wanted absolutely nothing; no titles, no wealth, no part on the noble society whatsoever. Only his mate.

And this was so goddamn difficult.

The way her big smile could blind the whole town, the way her eyes shone as she looked at him, yeah, she was the only one she wanted. Fate had played them and had played them bad.

A man slipped his arm around her waist so he could get her closer to him and the next second Arthmael found himself grabbing her hip and flashing her to him possessively. "Mine," he growled to the wolf who raised his hands in surrender.

Evelyn rolled her eyes as she turned to him, swallowing down the lump and pretending that him claiming her didn't do things to her body. "Did you have to scare away the poor boy?"

Arthmael's hands didn't leave her body though, he only slipped both his arms around her waist, holding her even closer. "I saw enough, he had his hands where they didn't belong."

Reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck, she giggled and it sounded so girlish it made him smile too. "You should've danced with me, then." Yet they were already dancing. The music had changed to a slow piano part that was almost too romantic. Not for them, though.

Suddenly, he buried his face on her neck, making her whole body shudder. "Mine," he whispered this time, his voice so low for a second Evelyn thought she had imagined it. But she hadn't. Just like she wasn't his, not really, no. She wasn't, no matter how much she wanted to be.

"I want us to go somewhere." His face hadn't moved from her neck still though, his lips brushing her skin tenderly and she almost whimpered for more. "Somewhere that I haven't gone with anyone else." Leaving a single kiss on her neck, he moved his hand to hers, holding it as they walked in silence until they were out of town.

"Where are we going?" Evelyn asked, having absolutely no idea where but just being with him was actually enough.

"Here."

They had stopped in front of a small two-storey house that was obviously old and needed some repair, but somehow it was the nicest house she had seen in town.

"Arthmael, whom does this belong to?" But she hadn't finished the question when she realized the answer herself. Tears filled up her eyes. "It's your childhood home, isn't it?"

He nodded, his eyes not leaving the house in front of him, not once. "It is. The house I've lived the first thirteen years of my life... with my mother." There was this sadness written in his eyes, his lips curled into the smallest sad smile.

Evelyn squeezed his hand softly. "It's really beautiful." She didn't lie, it was indeed.

"It needs a lot of work..." he trailed off. It needed a lot of work to make it livable again but he didn't have to. It was empty, and it would probably going to be empty for a lot longer.

"It does." She smiled. "I would love to do the gardening. There used to be a small garden, right?"

This time his smile gained some colors. "Would you?" He sounded genuinely surprised.

"Of course, I love gardening." She shrugged. "Well, it was easier when I had my powers..."

"Mom loved gardening too... Do you want to go inside?"

Did she want to? What kind of question was that? "So much," she only answered.

And somehow, the insides was just like she had imagined. Warm and cozy and somehow it felt like she could see the memories playing right in front of her eyes. It felt so much like home, even more than her own palace. It was strange, but it did.

He leaded her to his old bedroom first. It felt like Evelyn was seeing a part of him he had never allowed anyone else to see and it was much more different than the all powerful Commander everybody knew him to be. Like she was getting to meet the little boy inside Arthmael had tried to erase since the death of his mother, but it was still there, lingering in the air, in the little smile he had in his face as he touched the small things around the room, the wolf plushie, the paintings he had made as a child.

And there was another one. A little boy and a beautiful woman that held his hand, both smiling brightly. It was both heartbreaking and heartwarming in the same time. There was no one better than Evelyn that could understand.

"You were really talented even as a child," she told him, not letting go of his hand the whole time.

He smiled. "I took it from her. We used to spend hours together painting and talking and laughing."

"That sounds nice." She leaned her head on his shoulder as he should her the paintings.

"It was." He sighed, leading her to the other rooms, to the living room that had a fireplace in it that hadn't been used in years. "This was my favorite place. I don't remember how many times I fell asleep here and in the morning I found myself in my room."

"I'm really sorry." It was hard to keep her voice steady. "For what my kind did to you, I'm really sorry Arthmael."

He shook his head, surprisingly raising her hand in his lips and kissing the insides of it. Somehow, it felt like another level of intimate. "You were just a child and so was I."

"It doesn't make your loss less painful." She looked down at the floor, but he had already wrapped his arms around her. Evelyn didn't remember feeling like heaven in anyone's arms but his.

"It doesn't," Arthmael agreed, brushing his lips on her hair. "But blaming an entire kind for it doesn't either." His words made her separate from his arms instantly, not hiding the shock in her face. "And you being my mate taught me this," he continued. "Half of my life I have been wrong, Evelyn. You can't put the blame in thousands of people for one's wrongdoing. And if I have to blame one, maybe that one is King Robert." Admitting this out long was more relieving than he had thought for years. Or maybe admitting it to Evelyn was relieving. "If only he hadn't killed your father... nothing of this would've happened. Your father would be alive and so would my mother and you wouldn't have to marry him. And you and me..."

"Maybe we'd have never met." Even the thought scared her.

Brushing one strand of hair behind her pointy ear, he grinned. "I don't believe that one bit. I would've found you even in the end for the world... Hey why are you crying?"

"It's nothing." Wiping the tears away stubbornly, she turned her back as he wouldn't have to see. "It's nothing, really." The truth was she wanted to cry her heart out and she didn't even know exactly why. "We should go, the sun will set in an hour or two."

Hugging her from behind, he kissed the top of her head. Somehow keeping her close had become a necessity for him and his wolf now. "Nope, not before putting a smile on your face."

Evelyn didn't ask, didn't say anything, she only let him lead her wherever he wanted. He was full of surprises today, there was no doubt if he said he was going to put a smile on her face than he would.

And he did.

For the few first seconds Evelyn couldn't talk, she just gasped and stood there like a stone. "Arthmael..."

"Do you like it?"

She threw herself in his arms, kissing every spot of his face she could think of, not realizing when she kissed his lips until she kissed his lips. "It's magnificent," she whispered, grabbing some handfuls of skirts and running in the field filled with daisies. It was endless, and freeing, and so beautiful she couldn't get enough of it.

"Arthmael?" She shouted when she was away, the biggest smile on her face, just like he had promised. "I wanna see him!"

Arthmael narrowed his eyes. "Who?" He shouted back.

"My mate... Your wolf."